James Whitmore

About James Whitmore

Born on October 1, 1921, in White Plains, New York, gruff veteran
character actor James Whitmore earned early and widespread respect with
his award-winning dramatic capabilities on Broadway and in films. He
would later conquer TV with the same trophy-winning results.The son of James Allen Whitmore and Florence Crane, he was educated at
Connecticut's Choate School after receiving a football scholarship. He
later earned his BA from Yale University in 1944 before serving with
the Marines in World War II. Following his honorable discharge he
prepared for the stage under the G.I. bill at the American Theatre
Wing, where he met first wife Nancy Mygatt. They married in 1947 and
went on to have three sons together -- Steve, Dan and actor/director
James Whitmore Jr..Applause and kudos came swiftly for Whitmore while under both the
Broadway and film banners. After appearing with the Peterborough, New
Hampshire, Players in the summer of 1947 in "The Milky Way," Whitmore
made a celebrated Broadway debut as Tech Sergeant Evans in "Command
Decision" later that year. His gritty performance swept the stage
acting trifecta -- Tony, Donaldson and Theatre World awards. In later
years Whitmore would often comment that most of his satisfaction came
from performing on the live stage.Hollywood soon took notice of Whitmore.
Clark Gable happened to be starring in the
film version of
Command Decision (1948), and it
was hoped that Whitmore would get to recreate his award-winning role.
But it was not to be. Song-and-dance star
Van Johnson, who was looking for
straight, serious roles after a vastly successful musical career, was
given the coveted part. The disappointment didn't last long, however,
and Whitmore made an auspicious film bow the following year with a
prime role in the documentary-styled crime thriller
The Undercover Man (1949)
starring Glenn Ford and
Nina Foch. Whitmore scored brilliantly with
his second film as well.
Battleground (1949), another war
picture, was highly praised and the actor became the talk of the town
upon its initial release, grabbing both the Golden Globe and an Oscar
nomination for "supporting actor" for his efforts.Hardly the handsome, matinée lead type, Whitmore nevertheless primed
himself up for leading roles in a character vein and found a fine range
of material come his way. He showed off his soft inner core as a
religious, moral-minded family man opposite
Nancy Reagan [Reagan] in the
inspirational drama
The Next Voice You Hear... (1950);
featured his usual saltier side alongside
Marjorie Main in
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone (1950);
ably portrayed a hunchbacked crook in
The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and
displayed customary authority as a security chief in the stoic military
drama Above and Beyond (1952)
starring Robert Taylor. Elsewhere,
he played it strictly for laughs as a Runyonesque gangster partnered
with Keenan Wynn in the classic MGM musical
Kiss Me Kate (1953); portrayed a
valiant cop fighting off gigantic mutant ants in the intelligent sci-fi
thriller Them! (1954); a hard-hitting
social worker in
Crime in the Streets (1956)
and even made the most of his small role as
Tyrone Power...

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